Thomas Haden Church
Thomas Haden Church is an American actor, possibly best known for his roles in the TV shows "Wings" and "Ned And Stacy" and the films "Easy A" and "Spiderman 2." The third of six children, Church was born Thomas McMillen in El Paso, Texas to an Army officer/health care worker father and a homemaker mother. He was raised under his stepfather's surname, "Quesada", and later changed his surname to "Haden Church" (both names are in his family tree). He was raised in Laredo, Texas and graduated from Harlingen High School, Harlingen, Texas in 1979, going on to attend the University of North Texas. Church started in the entertainment business as a radio personality and doing voice-over work. A part in an independent film convinced him to move to California to pursue an acting career. Church made his acting debut in an episode of "Cheers," "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice" portraying Gordie Brown. He was later cast as the dim-witted airport mechanic Lowell Mather for six seasons (1990–1995) on the NBC sitcom Wings. He worked in television for two more seasons with a lead role on Ned and Stacey opposite Debra Messing. He has had supporting roles in films such as Tombstone, George of the Jungle, and The Specials. Church often plays villains or comic relief in films, most evident by turns in Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight and Over the Hedge to name a few. After having small roles in films such as Monkeybone and 3000 Miles to Graceland, he made his directorial debut Rolling Kansas in 2003. Church later took a break from films and relocated back to his native Texas. He has also done voiceover work in commercials, such as for Merrill Lynch and Icehouse Beer. In 2003, Alexander Payne called him regarding the role of "Jack" in Sideways, the selfish best friend to Paul Giamatti's character, looking to have one last fling before getting married. During the audition, Church stripped naked to read the audition scene, later saying "To me it was painfully obvious... I was reading the scene where Jack comes in naked and there has to be in-born vulnerability in the scene." (He later found that he was the only actor to strip down for the audition.) Sideways earned acclaim for Church, for which he won an IFP Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has since appeared in films such as Idiocracy, done voice-over work on films such as Over the Hedge and starred in one of AMC's highest rated television productions, Broken Trail, with Robert Duvall, in 2006, for which he won an Emmy. In 2007, he appeared as the villain Sandman in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. In 2005, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. On September 16, 2007, he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role of Tom Harte on AMC's Broken Trail. In October 2008, Church appeared in a video on funnyordie.com taking on the role of the fictitious average American, Joe Six Pack, made famous in the 2008 Presidential campaign by John McCain and Sarah Palin. The video titled "Thomas Haden Church vs Joe the Plumber" has Joe Six Pack (Thomas Haden Church) taking on his blue collar rival, Joe the Plumber. Church is currently working on the HBO series Divorce ''playing Robert Dufresne, opposite Sarah Jessica Parker. He has also lent his voice to various other projects including the TV series ''Teen Titans as well as Fox's 2009 film Aliens in the Attic. Church resides on his large ranch in Bandera County, Texas, which he bought in 1998. He is a full-time rancher. He is married to Mia Zottoli and has a daughter named Cody. His wife Mia used to be a soft-core porn actress and model (her last film came out in 2004). Category:Actors